After sampling some tiny bites from the menu at the launch of BSK (yes, I got to meet Gordon!), I was very keen to go back for more. Since its opening, this much-hyped new restaurant has been booked solid, so we chose to squeeze in for lunch.

The lunch menu is an abbreviated version of the dinner menu, with dishes that take longer to cook, such as the pork belly, being reserved for later in the day. We were more than happy with the choices on offer, and loved the fact that both menus are quite simple; they don’t try to do too much. The wine list is extensive and I was won over when I spotted Veuve Clicquot by the glass.

This 40oz Cote de boeuf makes your mouth water!

Your perfect afternoon treat: Eton mess with strawberries

Flatbread with caramelised onion, tallegio, pesto and pork cheek

Looking onto the bar at BSK

Spoiler alert! Your mouth will water when you click on this deelish food gallery above

We started with the flatbread with caramelised onion, tallegio, pesto and pork cheek. The flavour of the onion dominated and there was not enough of the crispy pork or pesto to cut through it, but it was nice to see the flatbread cooked in the wood-fired oven in the open kitchen. The kale salad was a winner: fresh, light and tasty.

For mains we had the pork chop with a red wine marrow and red cabbage, and the shepherd’s pie with honey roasted carrots. The pork was perfectly cooked and the sauce matched it beautifully. The shepherd’s pie was a little on the salty side, and such a large serving that I couldn’t finish it (a rare occurrence), but it was exactly as you expect this dish to be. It would be particularly lovely on a cold afternoon; the carrots were nothing short of spectacular and took me back to my mum’s kitchen – so fresh and full of flavour. Clearly there is an emphasis on high quality produce here, and that makes all the difference.

The desserts were also a triumph, with the chocolate tart with salted caramel ice cream proving rich and velvety without being too sweet, and the Eton mess with strawberries and cream a perfect summer afternoon treat.

The venue is modelled on the original BSK in London, and it’s a really nice space – classy but casual, with seating for 90, so it feels intimate without being too crowded. What impressed us the most about Bread Street Kitchen was its authenticity. It’s not a local restaurant trying to be British – it is British. It’s also not marketing itself as fine dining, but you do get some very good food, at reasonable prices, in a nice atmosphere, and with friendly and efficient staff – which was all very fine with me.